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From: reid@Cascade.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.bicycle
Subject: Re: Re: Freewheel Maintenance
Message-ID: <107@Cascade.ARPA>
Date: Sun, 2-Sep-84 15:02:52 EDT
Article-I.D.: Cascade.107
Posted: Sun Sep  2 15:02:52 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 13-Sep-84 05:37:09 EDT
References: <423@astrovax.UUCP> <105@Cascade.ARPA> <761@opus.UUCP>
Organization: Stanford University
Lines: 21

> PLEASE let's try to spread the word on this.  DO NOT EVER, under ANY
> circumstances, use gasoline for cleaning.  It is more dangerous than you
> can possibly imagine.  Look, the stuff is MADE to blow up; why do you think
> we use it to run engines?
> -- 
Actually, gasoline is less dangerous than many of the substitute solvents.
There is a fairly narrow range of air/fuel ratios in which it is explosive.
Naturally it needs to be used outdoors, away from electrical sparks and
flames, but all solvents need this. Many brands of cleaning solvent that you
can buy in automotive stores contain pentane (wildly explosive), cresylic
acid (extremely toxic), ethlyene chloride (rampant carcinogen), acetone
(wildly explosive), etc. etc.

Gasoline can be handled properly and safely. Its biggest danger is probably
that people don't treat it with respect because it is such a common chemical.

One of the perverse laws of nature is that more volatile chemicals make
better cleaning solvents. They dissolve more things and they evaporate
faster.
		Brian Reid
		Stanford